All students receiving federal aid (Pell Grant, College Work Study, Supplemental Grant, or William D. Ford Direct Loan) must make satisfactory academic progress SAP). Academic progress must be monitored for all terms of enrollment, whether or not financial aid was received. In accordance with federal guidelines, students receiving federal financial aid at Southern Union State Community College must meet the following requirements:
- Status Review: Academic progress will be assessed at the time a student is awarded and at the end of each semester after grades have been posted to academic history by the Registrar’s Office. You will receive one of the following status notifications:
Pass: Your status was reviewed and you are eligible to receive aid for the following term.
Warning: Your status was reviewed and you are not meeting the minimum SAP guidelines. You will be put on a “Warning” status and allowed to keep aid for one term. Your continued eligibility will be determined after the next term checkpoint.
Failure: Your status was reviewed after the check point of a “Warning” classification and it was found that you do not qualify for financial aid for the following term.
Close to Max: Your status was reviewed and you are close to reaching your maximum timeframe in credit hour limit. You will continue to be monitored until you have exhausted your eligibility. Your continued eligibility will be determined after the next term checkpoint. Max: Your status was reviewed after the checkpoint of the "close to max" classification and it has been determined you have exceeded the maximum timeframe in credit hours. you no longer qualify for federal financial assistance. - Maximum Time Frame: Students may receive financial aid for a period not to exceed 1 1/2 times the normal length of their specific program of study. For example, students with an Associate in Science Degree requiring 64 credit hours will have a maximum of 96 hours to complete the program. Students who transfer from other colleges will have all credit hours accepted by Southern Union included in the 96-hour total. The length of programs may vary.
Note: All attempted courses, including transfer credits accepted by the institution, incompletes, periods where academic bankruptcy or course forgiveness was applied, and developmental courses, must be factored into the calculation of the Maximum Time Frame.
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Grade Point Average Standard: Each student will be expected to meet or exceed the following GPA at the indicated points in his/her program of study:
Long-Term Certificates and Degrees:
Credit Hours Minimum Cumulative GPA 1 - 21 semester hours 1.50 22 - 32 semester hours 1.75 33+ semester hours 2.00
Short-Term Certificates:Credit Hours
Minimum Cumulative GPA
1 - 12 semester hours
1.50 13+ semester hours
2.00
Note: Transfer credits, if applicable, are not included in the GPA calculation. Academic bankruptcy and course forgiveness courses must be factored into the GPA calculation. Incompletes are not averaged into the GPA calculation until the grade has been updated to reflect the student’s actual grade for the course.
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Pace Standard: Each student will be expected to meet or exceed the following Pace of Progression at the indicated points in his/her program of study:
Long-Term Certificates and Degrees:
Credit Hours Completion Rate 1 - 21 semester hours 58% 22 - 32 semester hours 62% 33+ semester hours 67%
Short-Term Certificates:Credit Hours Completion Rate 1 - 12 semester hours 58% 13+ semester hours 67%
Note: If a student repeats a course that was previously successfully completed, the credit hours obtained the second time the course is attempted do not count toward the minimum number of academic hours required for program completion. Withdrawals count as hours attempted but not earned. Academic bankruptcy and course forgiveness courses must be factored into the completion rate. Incomplete grades are calculated in attempted but not as passed for Pace.
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Developmental Courses: A student may not enroll in the same developmental course more than three times and continue to receive financial assistance. A federal financial aid recipient may not receive aid for more than 30 semester hours of developmental work. In addition, effective beginning Fall Semester 2011, developmental hours taken will not be included when determining a student’s grade point average and pace standards progress for financial aid, including the maximum time frame allotment.
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Academic Suspension: When a student is suspended, whether the student serves the suspension or is readmitted upon appeal, the student is not eligible to receive financial aid for the duration of the suspension. To regain eligibility, the student must attain the minimum cumulative GPA required for the number of credit hours attempted, or make a 2.0 GPA for the term.
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Change in Program: A student may change his/her program of study; however, this may cause the student to exceed the maximum time frame for financial aid. All hours attempted at Southern Union and all transfer hours accepted in all programs are counted in the maximum time frame allowed for the student’s current program of study.
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Regaining Eligibility: To regain eligibility, a student must attend Southern Union at his/her own expense until the standards outlined in this policy are met.
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Appeal Process: A student who loses his/her financial aid because of a failure to meet these academic progress requirements may appeal if there are extenuating circumstances. The student must submit a completed Financial Aid Appeal Form and supporting documentation of the extenuating circumstances. The student will be allowed to appeal one time. All appeals will be reviewed by the Financial Aid Committee and the decision of the committee is final. Each student will be notified in writing as to the outcome of his/her appeal. An approved appeal is void after three (3) consecutive semesters of non-enrollment.
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Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year, the Pell Grant duration of eligibility will be 600%, which is the equivalent of 12 full-time semesters. The Pell Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) limit of 600% will apply to all Pell recipients regardless of when they first began receiving Pell Grant funds.